WHEN Lincoln's assassin had been swallowed up in the darkness
of the night and the clatter of his horse's hoofs had died away, it
seemed at first thought a hopeless task to divine his probable
direction or to organize anything but a haphazard pursuit. On
second consideration, however, the choice of possible routes of
escape narrowed down perceptibly. Booth, who had been seen on
the stage by thousands, could not risk passing through northern
cities where he might have been recognized by any chance
passer-by. The country west of Washington was held by Federal
troops; even if Booth was ignorant that the War Department had
alarmed such far-away posts as Cumberland and Charlestown, he
would have shied at the prospect of traversing these districts. Nor
did the northwestern roads lead to friendly territory. There remained Baltimore, a town in which Southern sentiment always
ran high and where Booth had many friends; and finally, the
South itself, where the assassin could hope for acclaim and assistance. But it is probable that Baltimore would have proved a cul-de-sac rather than a shelter; Booth was much more likely to
strike for broader spaces in the hope of thus evading his pursuers.

The fact that no trains left Washington after 7:30 P.M. and
the probability that all railroads would be kept under strict
surveillance, should have been given serious thought by both the
assassin and the authorities. Trains would certainly be closely
watched, and Booth would have been insane to use them.

The only likely route for Booth to take was the one he actually
followed. It was what was then known as the underground railway to Richmond and was traveled by spies and dispatch-bearers,
by Confederate mail-carriers and by dealers in contraband. There

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